5W Public Relations

5W Public Relations is a New-York-based PR company. Its founder, president and CEO is Ronn D. Torossian. 

It's website states, "5W is prepared to fight for its clients interests every step of the way, whether portraying a company as an industry leader, campaigning to make sure its part of a broader story, or battling to keep a negative story out of the press."

History
In May 2003 Democracy Now reported that representatives from the Christian Coalition, the Zionist Organization of America, and Israel's Ministry of Tourism, were apparently now working to derail Bush's "road map for peace." Democracy Now reports Israeli Tourism Minister Benny Elon is lobbying the U.S. Congress and Christian fundamentalists -- including Christian Coalition President Roberta Combs and former presidential candidate Gary Bauer and Pat Robertson -- against the U.S. peace plan.

The Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz reports Elon is presenting a different plan that will call for the establishment of a Palestinian state in Jordan. Ha'aretz reports that Elon said: "What we are now seeing across the Muslim world is not a powerful surge of faith but the dying embers of Islam. ... Within a few years a Christian crusade against Islam will be launched, which will be the major event of this millennium." 

In March 2005 PR Week reported that The Lebanese American Council for Democracy, the "group that played a key role in the passage of the Syrian Accountability Act," retained 5W Public Relations for "strategic counsel and media relations." The group's goal is "to gain support from U.S. political leaders and United Nations officials to pressure Syria to withdraw its troops." The group is reportedly "closely aligned with Michel Aoun, the former Prime Minister who was ousted by the Syrians" in 1990. The 5W firm is "preparing daily briefing sheets for the media to respond to current events." The Syrian Accountability Act, passed in 2003, "imposed sanctions on Syria for occupying Lebanon." 

According to the O'Dwyers PR news website, 5W Public Relations netted $11,581,939 in fees in 2007 an increase of 24.3% from 2006 figures. It is the employer of 79 people.

Income and Employee Totals
PR Week ranked 5W Public Relations as the twenty-seventh largest independent PR agency in the United States in 2008, with 2007 revenue of $11,581,939, a 24% increase from the previous year's total revenue of $9,320,477. The ranking also notes its staff total of 79 (2006 total: 65), with $146,607 in revenue per employee.

Clients
Former National Football League (NFL) running back Tiki Barber hired 5W Public Relations to try and repair his damaged image after he left his eight-months-pregnant wife for a former NBC intern. The goal reportedly was to try and change the public's perception of his affair with the intern.


 * American Jewish Congress
 * Lebanese American Council for Democracy
 * Christian Coalition
 * Zionist Organization of America
 * Israel Ministry of Tourism
 * Pastor John Hagee
 * Binyamin Elon

Other clients listed on the firm's website include:
 * Adtech
 * American Bible Society
 * Anheuser-Busch
 * BET Networks
 * BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc.
 * Chopra Center
 * Christians United for Israel (CUFI)
 * Cotton USA
 * Def Jam Interactive
 * DMX
 * Evian
 * Fannie Mae
 * GQ
 * Ice Cube
 * Jamster
 * Le Marais
 * McDonald's
 * Microsoft MSN
 * Pamela Anderson
 * The Pritikin Longevity Center & Spa
 * Regent University
 * Shalom TV
 * SoCal Cleanse
 * Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN)
 * United States Beverage (USB)
 * Vail Resorts
 * VeriSign
 * Vertical Branding
 * Vital Marketing
 * XM Satellite Radio

Personnel
From their website:
 * Ronn Torossian, President & CEO
 * Adam J. Handelsman, Executive Vice President, Partner
 * Neil Alumkal, Senior Vice President, Consumer
 * Juda Engelmayer, Senior Vice President, Corporate
 * Kevin A. Mercuri, Senior Vice President, Technology
 * Tracy Nguyen, Senior Vice President, Entertainment & Lifestyle
 * Kellie Brown, Vice President
 * Reggie Dance, Vice President
 * Clint Cantwell, Vice President
 * Kisha Maldonado, Vice President (Los Angeles)
 * Jules Feiler, Vice President of Media Relations

Contact details
5W Public Relations 1120 Avenue of the Americas 7th Floor New York, NY 10036 Phone: 212-999-5585 Fax: 646-328-1711 Email: info AT 5wpr.com Web: http://www.5wpr.com

Articles

 * "'It's Clear That Islam Is On the Way to Disappearing': The Words of Israeli Tourism Minister Benny Elon, Who Is Set to Lobby Christian Fundamentalists Close to President Bush Against the Middle East Peace Plan, Democracy Now, May 6th, 2003.
 * Daniel Ben Simon, "All mapped out", Ha'aretz, May 2003.
 * Beth Herskovits, "Lebanese organization challenging Syrian occupation taps 5WPR for strategic counsel", PR Week, March 10, 2005. (Sub req'd).
 * Gary Rosenblatt, "Inside Israel’s Image War", The Jewish Week, January 19, 2007.
 * "The Bad Boy of Buzz and His PR Problem: Ronn Torossian's 5W represents rappers and evangelicals, but blue-chip clients are more elusive," BusinessWeek, November 12, 2007.